Surly Officially Announces Distribution Partnership

Surly Brewing Company has officially announced that have partnered with Artisan Beer Company to be their new distribution partner. Artisan Beer Company is a subsidiary of Johnson Brothers, a family-owned distributor of liquor, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages with headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Surly has self-distributed its beer to retailers since its launch. Rapid growth, the planned expansion of their brewing capacity, as well as the plans for a “destination brewery” have forced Surly to seek some help in distribution. The change is going to take effect as of Monday, May 20th, 2013. Both Artisan and Surly anticipate being able to continue supplying their customers without major interruptions during the transition.

“While our goal is to be perfect, there are always unexpected bumps in the road in any business transition like this. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding if we happen to mess something up… Rest assured, we will do everything we can to correct it as quickly as possible and keep the beer flowing!” says Omar Ansari, founder of Surly Brewing Company.

Does this mean that more delicious Surly beer will be available around town? At this point the answer is “no”. But with this distribution partnership Surly hopes to be able to focus on building their new brewery which will in turn allow for more Surly to reach the hands of eager consumers.

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Dan Parker is a beer chef, beer writer, homebrewer, and all around beer guy. He spends his time with his family, food, and fermentations. Dan can be contacted via Email or on Twitter at @ChefDanParker.